Tour Diary - Portlandia

We left my dear cousin Alex in Seattle, after a walk around their neighborhood and breakfast at a bakery, holding my ears as the Blue Angels made circle after circle around us. Loud FAST. Got a walk in before it was unbearable outside - in by 10am and still already sweaty. Alex's dog kept flopping down in the shade, refusing to go any further before a nice rest.

The drive to Portland was smooth - no traffic! No sitting for an hour in 105 with ac only working 30 sec at a time! Hallelujah! We met Cliff - awesome bass player - first to practice before the show. This great house was under a beautiful water tower. Felt like a fairy land because it makes you small.

Off to Berbati's - load in, hot, set up, hot, eat dinner, nice breeze outside. My wonderful sister Jody came to meet us and help with everything. The club was big and beautiful, the sound clear

I read the review in the Mercury, and was stunned for a bit. It's the best review Petracovich has gotten from this often snide paper. But it was the first time I'd seen my son Otto's name in print, and it hit me hard in a way I didn't expect, melding worlds - this big glitzy club, me as a performer, me as a mama with a broken heart. I didn't know how to combine them. I'm glad I'm telling his story, this beautiful boy, but it's also an intense thing to share, to put out there, and then go on stage. There's no right way to do it.


So I had a good cry, and then went up and played. Max and Cliff made a full sound, when they first came in, a smile came over me, and it was fun from then on out. (Including the last 30 sec. of a tune where the Nord slowly fell onto my main piano and I played only with my left hand) We fixed it. Read the Oregonion review of the show here


The show started much later than we were told - thanks to dear friends who came and waited! I thought it would be earlier too. Carcrashlander played a beautiful set - I love Cory's tunes, and all the players - the trumpet takes the cake.

Speaking of cake - Voodoo donuts is right next door and I got my first taste - they make these delectables in all sorts of shapes and sizes - all SORTS. We were fairly tame with these...I'll be adding more shots of petracovich on-stage in a couple days. Check in!